On Tuesday night, Ryan Reaves took on a touch more than he was ready for.
Now suiting up for San Jose, Reaves dropped the mitts at the red line opposite Mathieu Olivier, a respected heavyweight, and that Columbus forward came out on top. Following an exchange of punishing punches, Reaves looked rattled, and Olivier landed a closing right hand flush on his left temple.
For a few seconds the punch left Reaves out cold, and the longtime forward staggered while trying to get back to his feet.
Picking up on the fact that Reaves wasn't all there, Olivier moved to shield the fallen man before skating away.
Olivier said afterward that he'd put in the request and Reaves obliged, explaining in his postgame comments. He marveled at how long Reaves has stuck with it and how impressive a career he's strung together season after season. Olivier called it a wide-open scrap where anybody can get caught, noting that the moment he felt Reaves slipping, he aimed to prop him up, which he reckons is what everyone does.
In his own media availability afterward, Reaves admitted this was the very first knockdown of his career, and it seemingly left him pondering just how much more time he had left grinding away in the NHL's enforcer role.
Reaves told the media that Olivier ranks among the league's toughest, and that this marked the first occasion anyone had caught him and dropped him in such a manner. He noted that taking on a player of that ilk at 38, his age advancing, meant the moment was bound to come eventually, that this was that day, and that he'd return the favor down the road.
The fight erupted on the shift following a goal from Columbus blueliner Zach Werenski that shaved San Jose's edge to 2-1, sparked by Olivier's wish to give his bench a jolt of life following a flat opening two frames.
Reaves recounted that his side lacked any push and Olivier put in the ask, reasoning that turning it down would mean Olivier refusing him when his own number came up later. He noted that few players still volunteer for it nowadays, that he's bound to require one from Olivier eventually, and that he's confident the favor will be returned, summing it up as nothing more than that.
The two had thrown down once before, last season, while Reaves wore a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform. Olivier bested Reaves on that occasion too, in a bout that plenty would go on to call a strong candidate for the season's best fight.
Even with clear evidence that Tuesday's tilt had left him out cold and woozy, Reaves returned for the final frame and skated five additional turns. Asked to detail what happened away from view before being cleared, he opened up about the NHL's concussion process.
Reaves recounted committing a few terms to memory — cotton, honey and arrow among them — reciting the calendar months in reverse, tackling number drills, and completing balance tasks, then said he aced the whole thing.
It was the fourth scrap of the campaign for Reaves after a single one a season ago, that too against Olivier. A Winnipeg product, he's tallied three goals over 36 appearances this season with San Jose.
With their veteran tough guy back, the Sharks held their advantage over Columbus. In the final 20 minutes, Mario Ferraro, Zack Ostapchuk, and the rookie Macklin Celebrini each found twine to power a 5-2 outcome at the SAP Center.